Lynda Albertson has written a long, meaty and thought-provoking article which touches on several aspect of the antiquity market ('Sir, how much is that (2nd Century B.C.E.) Vase in the Window? Part III', ARCA blog, April 11, 2015). This is the last of a three part series, this explores the implications for the antiquities trade of the Medici bust in September 1995 and then goes through the work of the Carabiniei and Swiss police investigating the networks linking various figures in the market of the 1980s and 1990s and later work by Gill and Tsirogiannis identifying objects handled - and the reaction of the art trade to that. She continues by relating this to the current debate on blood antiquities from the Middle East.
UPDATE April 11, 2015
Oh how embarrassing for those doing their due diligence, again 'Update: Christie's Withdraws Antiquities Lots from April 15, 2015 Sale'. They do seem to find it difficult tracking back where their objects came from... This withdrawal took place after INTERPOL, the Metropolitan Police and the Italian Carabinieri had been notified about them. Here's what has gone:
All four were mentioned in the above ARCA blog article (identified by Christos Tsirogiannis), David Gill seems to have obliquely referred to one of them earlier too. You would think firms like Christie's would take active steps to avoid such embarrassment being possible. Or are they just putting stuff up whether then can show it is licit or not, hoping that only a few expendable ones are challenged (the number being reliant on the degree of effort put in by outside investigators)?
I have also commented directed on the Attic black-figured amphora attributed to the Swing painter: http://lootingmatters.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-swing-painter-and-becchina-archive.html.
ReplyDelete